Archive for April, 2009

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 April 2009 09:41 Written by FGM WebOffice

Our two Free Gaza co-ordinators in Gaza are planning a speaking tour in a number of European and Middle East countries over the next few weeks. Caoimhe Butterly and Ewa Jasiewicz, who both originally travelled to Gaza on siege breaking Free Gaza boats (the second and fourth voyages respectively) have been working closely with partners on the ground in Gaza over the last few months. Ewa was in Gaza throughout the December – January massacres and Caoimhe managed to return to Gaza during the war.

They will be speaking about Israeli war crimes and working with paramedics, journalist and farmers under fire in Gaza before, during and after the 2009 war. The key message that Ewa and Caoimhe will be bringing is that people in Gaza want pressure for political change – particularly through the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign. The message is that aid work must be accompanied by campaigning to bring about justice and freedom from occupation.

Both Caoimhe and Ewa will be available for media interviews but will be mainly focussing on speaking to people about what they have seen in Gaza, and acting as a bridge to bring the messages from Palestinians inside Gaza to the outside world. They have developed close links with a number of developing grassroots projects in Gaza and have ideas about links which groups in Europe and elsewhere may want to develop. They will be travelling to Lebanon, Britain, Ireland, Poland, and possibly Germany, Spain and Italy. We will post up a schedule once we have more details. on www.freegaza.org

Update: April 23rd, Ewa and Caoimhe are waiting at the Rafah exit crossing, having spent three days trying to leave. They report: The last two days of being at Rafah, though, have given us a much deeper understanding of the deep humiliation that Palestinians crossing through Rafah have to endure. It’s infuriating- the elderly, wounded, trapped students, patients, families- proud, noble people being subjected to such degrading treatment.

Galway Palestine Children’s Appeal has expressed concern about further border delays which have prevented four containers of Irish humanitarian aid from being delivered to the people of Gaza. Irish embassy officials in Egypt have been trying to track the containers, following their detention in the Egyptian port of Alexandria along with aid consignments sent from Britain and France. Irish ambassador to Egypt Gerard Corr has informed the Galway group this week that the goods are to be brought into Gaza in “instalments, subject to Israeli approval”. The four Irish containers were filled by the Galway group, and by the Cork Palestine Children’s Authority after a public appeal early in the year. They were shipped in February to Egypt, arriving in Alexandria early last month. When they were eventually released by the Egyptian authorities, they were sent back again to Alexandria from the border crossing at El Arish due to the absence of one document. Treasa Ní Cheannabháin of the Galway Palestine Children’s Appeal has been told that the containers have now been moved back to El Arish, and are to be “de-vanned” and inspected by the Israelis before delivery. Ms Ní Cheannabháin said that the containers held vital medical supplies, food, toys and clothes and it was vital that the people of Gaza received these items. “We had new clothes and household goods given to us by Galway businesses, and we know that the people are really suffering and need these supplies.” John Ging, Irish-born head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, highlighted continued inadequate access by residents of Gaza to humanitarian supplies such as food, medicine, blankets and clothes. About half of the population of 1.5 million people in Gaza are children. Ms Ní Cheannabháin has said that she and her Egyptian-born husband, Dr Saber El-Safty, intend to travel later this month to Gaza, and have copies of the container manifests which they intend to check against delivery.